What Causes Damage to the Brain and Nervous System?

A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. The tumor can either originate in the brain itself, or come from another part of the body and travel to the brain (metastasize). Brain tumors may be classified as either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) depending on their behavior.

As people age, the brain and nervous system go through natural changes. The brain and spinal cord lose nerve cells and weight. Nerve cells may begin to transmit messages more slowly than in the past. Waste products may collect in the brain tissue as nerve cells break down, causing plaques and tangles. Lipofuscin (a fatty brown pigment) may also accumulate in nerve tissue.

Problems that can affect the brain include:

Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is the result of a developmental defect or damage to the brain before or during birth. It affects the motor areas of the brain. A person with cerebral palsy may have average intelligence or can have severe developmental delays or mental retardation. Cerebral palsy can affect body movement in many different ways. In mild cases of cerebral palsy, there may be minor muscle weakness of the arms and legs. In other cases, there may be more severe motor impairment - a child may have trouble talking and performing basic movements like walking.

Nervous System

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is an anormaly of the nervous system. The most common and dangerous type of epileptic seizure is the grand mal. During the attack, the person that suffers from the grand mal loses his/her consciousness. He/She convulses due to the tension of the muscles. Foam comes out of the person's mouth and his/her eyes turn white. It is advisable to stick a spoon or a wood stick in between the teeth to prevent any damages to the tongue. Children suffer from another kind of epilepsy called petit mal. The sypmtoms between the petit mal and the gran mal are relatively similar. However, the epileptic crisis caused by the petit mal is shorter (thirty seconds) than the grand mal (up to fiver minutes).

Anatomy of the Nervous System

If you think of the brain as a central computer that controls all bodily functions, then the nervous system is like a network that relays messages back and forth from the brain to different parts of the body. It does this via the spinal cord, which runs from the brain down through the back and contains threadlike nerves that branch out to every organ and body part.

The functioning of the nervous system and the flow of its Spiritus was magical and mysterious. Likewise, the various abberations of consciousness and dysfunctions of the nervous system were equally mysterious and difficult problems to solve.

Quite early on, powerful medicines, usually of botanical origin, were discovered which had a profound effect on the Psychic Faculty and nervous system. Tincture of Belladonna, applied topically, could dilate the pupils of the eyes. Mistletoe was a powerful antispasmodic and anticonvulsant that could treat and prevent epileptic seizures. Henbane had powerful antispasmodic effects on the muscles and bowels. The powerful effects of these medicines couldn't be explained by the usual laws of taste and temperament alone, as they seemed to have a magical special potency.